Atomic habits bonus bonus chapter: how to apply these ideas to business

ATOMIC HABITS BONUS
BONUS CHAPTER: HOW TO APPLY THESE IDEAS TO BUSINESS
7
Consider the timeline of Amazon’s shipping policies: 
1994: Amazon founded.
2002: Amazon launches Free Super Saver Shipping with free shipping on orders over $99.
2005: Amazon launches Amazon Prime with free two-day shipping on all products.
2014: Amazon launches “Read While Your Book Ships” so people who bought the 
print version of a book can read the Kindle version instantly while they wait for the pur-
chase to arrive in the mail.
2018: Amazon launches free grocery delivery within two hours.
Amazon is continually looking to give customers what they want in an easier, faster, 
and more convenient fashion: Get it shipped. Get it shipped free. Get it shipped free in 
two days. Get it shipped free in two hours. Get it right now while you wait for us to ship 
it to you free in two days. 
Great businesses remove every point of friction they can think of to make the desired 
behavior as easy as possible.
THE 4TH LAW
The 4th Law of Behavior Change is to make it satisfying. The final stage of the habit 
loop is the reward. If there is a reward associated with a behavior—that is, it feels good 
and has a satisfying ending—then we have a reason to repeat it in the future. 
In Chapter 15 of Atomic Habits, I say, “The first three laws of behavior change—make 
it obvious, make it attractive, and make it easy—increase the odds that a behavior will be 
performed this time. The fourth law of behavior change—make it satisfying—increases 
the odds that a behavior will be repeated next time. It completes the habit loop.”
In business, we could say that making your product or service satisfying increases the 
odds that a customer will return next time. It is the fourth stage that closes the loop and 
encourages your customers to use your product or service habitually. 
The speed of the reward is a crucial factor in the 4th Law of Behavior Change. Cus-
tomers need to feel immediately successful—even if it’s just in some small way—each 
time they use a product or service. At a minimum, the product should solve the problem 
(i.e. resolve the craving they experienced in Law 2) and, if possible, it should do so with 
some surprise or delight as well. 

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